1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of displays for advertising purposes and the like.
2. Prior Art
The prior art believed to be closest to the present invention is a product generally in accordance with U.S. Design Pat. No. 378,301. Since the present invention represents a substantial improvement over the structure of that display, the structure of that display will be described in some detail herein.
The prior art display, like the present invention display, uses upper and lower display panel sub-assemblies which fold flat and which, when held open and stacked one to another, provide the finished display. To hold the sub-assemblies open, separate center sub-assemblies are provided which also fold flat and which must be opened and locked into an open position and assembled, one to another, prior to opening the upper and lower panel sub-assemblies and sliding the latter assembly thereinto. Thus, the actual sub-assemblies having the surfaces of the display on which the advertising or other material is printed is separate from the structural assembly used to hold the display in an open condition.
The foregoing structure has a number of disadvantages over the present invention. The two sub-assemblies which form the actual display surfaces are initially physically independent of the additional two sub-assemblies which must be assembled and placed therein to hold the display in the open condition. Consequently, the overall assembly procedure is substantially more complicated and time consuming than in the present invention. Also, the assemblies forming the internal structure of the display are not positively located with respect to sub-assemblies which form the display panels of the display itself, thereby requiring adjustment of position of that internal structure with respect to the sub-assemblies forming the display panels to center the same therein. Further, because the sub-assemblies forming the display panels must be manually opened for insertion of the assembly forming the center structure of the display, the opportunity exists to excessively open those sub-assemblies so as to form an unsightly permanent crease therein, probably preventing those sub-assemblies from elastically closing around the center structure to frictionally retain the parts relative to each other.
Thus, while the prior art display can provide a commanding appearance, as in the present invention, the structure thereof, and thus the assembly required, is much more complicated than that of the present invention.